Summary

The correct sequence of meiotic prophase development in the male mouse has been established by the use of pubertal males. The first wave of spermatogenesis at this time provides a unique opportunity to study progressive meiotic development in a direct way. Air-dried and micro-spread analyses have been carried out. Temporal and morphological progression at this time is entirely consistent with that occurring in the later waves of meiosis of the adult male. Morphological detail shows delayed pairing of the X and Y chromosomes relative to the autosomes. The longest XY synaptonemal complex is seen in early pachytene cells, occupying up to 72% of the length of the Y and 22% of the length of the X axis. By late pachytene, end-to-end pairing in the XY bivalent is established, the autosomal axes remaining fully paired. Desynapsis of the autosomes commences at early diplotene. A ‘diffuse’ diplotene stage in the male, comparable to the dictyate stage of the female, could not be found. Marked lengthening of the XY and autosomal axes did, however, occur through the diplotene stage.

Pavan Vedula and Anna Kashina propose a new concept, the actin code, which encompasses the regulation of the essential functions of mammalian actins at the nucleotide level, rather than at the level of amino acids.

“To me, there are no real boundaries between chemistry, biology, physics and maths.”

Tony leads a group at the Mechanobiology Institute in Singapore, focusing on dissecting the structure–function relationship that underlies protein complexes that are involved in cell migration and adhesion. He shares his thoughts on why you don’t necessarily have to choose between the different branches of science that you find fascinating.

We also feature interviews with first authors of a selection of papers published in Journal of Cell Science, helping early-career researchers promote themselves alongside their papers. Check out our recent First Person interview with Julia Abitbol.

The second in our series of cell dynamics meetings now turns to organelles. This May 2019 meeting in Lisbon, Portugal, aims to bring together scientists studying the interface between organelles and the cytoskeleton at different scales and perspectives using a range of model systems. Find out more and register your interest here.

We are currently seeking proposals for four Workshops to be held in 2020. Do you have an idea for a Workshop? Please let us know and you could be one of our 2020 Workshop organisers. You focus on the science, we focus on the logistics. We are particularly keen to receive proposals from postdocs. Deadline date for applications is 25 May 2018.

Meet the preLighters! In the latest interview with our preLights community, the preLights team caught up with James Gagnon, Assistant Professor at the University of Utah, to talk about his research, how science can be made more open, his enthusiasm for the preLights project and the fun sides of being a junior PI.

Alexander García Ponce investigated how hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) cross the vascular wall and reach the bone marrow as part of his PhD project, with an aim to improving the outcome of HSC transplantation for individuals with leukaemia. A Travelling Fellowship from JCS allowed Alexander to advance his research at the Sanquin Blood Bank in The Netherlands. Read more on his story here.

Where could your research take you? Join Alexander and apply for the next round of Travelling Fellowships from JCS by 25 May 2018.